gastro ./ lower gastrointestinal bleeding
Gastro-oesophageal Reflux, Factors That Determine It And Treatments
By Groshan Fabiola
Gastro-oesophageal reflux is a condition that appears if the lower oesophageal sphincter is abnormally relaxed. Because of the abnormally relaxed oesophageal sphincter, stomach's acidic contents can reflux into the gullet. This fact can also provoke heartburn, and if this happens daily, you must contact your doctor in order to receive medical care and advices.
Repeated episodes of gastro-oesophageal reflux can cause oesophagitis, which is the inflammation of the inner lining of the oesophagus. Gastro-esophageal reflux oesophagitis usually comes with symptoms like a burning or a painful sensation in the upper abdomen or chest, that sometimes radiates to the back, some patients can have breathing difficulties and suffer from hoarseness, and also excess belching can appear.
It was observed that gastro-oesophageal reflux appears especially after eating a large or fatty meal, drinking alcohol, lying down, bending over or bending and lifting. Usually, symptoms occur rarely, but there are also cases when they appear weekly, or even daily.
It is also known that smoking makes the gastro-oesophageal reflux to become much worse.
Gastro-oesophageal reflux can have a great influence in our lifestyle, the quality of our life can become lower. This disease can provoke oesophagitis if you are exposed for a long time to refluxed acid, and also, if oesophagitis lasts for a long time, it will lead to complications. There can appear a scar-tissue that contracts and a narrowing will come in the affected part of the oesophagus. Of course, this is a grave situation, the patient will have great difficulties when we wants to swallow, or he will not be able to swallow at all. He will need immediately medical care, but fortunately, this complication is rare.
The oesophageal sphincter, which is the muscular ring situated near the diaphragm, at the lower end of the oesophagus is functioning as one-way valve. It has the role to prevent stomach contents from flowing upward. When the sphincter is not working properly, stomach acid will flow into the oesophagus. It is not known the exact cause of gastro-oesophageal reflux apparition, but there are a few conditions that surely contribute to this problem.
If the patient has an overweight problem, the excessive fat in the abdominal cavity makes the pressure inside it to increase. That determines the contents of the stomach to travel up into the gullet.
Hiatus hernia is also a problem that can
lead to gastro-oesophageal reflux apparition. The oesophagus remains open because the diaphragm is not closing the lower end, and stomach acid will enter into the oesophagus.
In pregnancy, the uterus increases in size, it presses the stomach ,and the possibility of the reflux to come grows.
You should avoid tobacco, some foods like peppermint, coffee, fruit juices, chocolate and alcohol, and also you must take in consideration that lying down makes the reflux tendency to increase.
Usually, the symptoms of gastro-oesophageal reflux are obvious, so no tests are needed, but the doctor can perform some tests if he has doubts. For example, he can perform a gastroscopy, or can measure the acidity in the lower end of the oesophagus during a 24-hour period. There exists another method too, used only in complicated cases, and that is called oesophageal manometry.
If you want to reduce the risk of developing reflux, you should stop smoking, drink less coffee and alcohol, avoid high-fat meals, and try to lose weight if it is necessary.
If you do not have frequent symptoms, you can treat with antacids and histamine antagonists, no medical attention being needed, but if symptoms are very unpleasant, and the heartburn is frequent, you must go to the doctor at once.The doctor will determine if there are necessary some tests, or if you need stronger medication.
Usually antacids successfully have effect in controlling the symptoms, but if antacid medication fails, the doctor will prescribe medicines called histamine H2 antagonists, and next , if it is needed, proton pump inhibitors. There exist also a small number of cases that require laparoscopical procedure, where the oesophageal sphincter is strengthened. Article Source: http://www.articlemap.com For more resources about acid reflux or especially about acid reflux treatment please click this link www.acid-reflux-info-guide.com/acid-reflux-treatment.htm
When convenience is not worth the price
What a week!
One week ago,
Bunny was transfered to the rehabilitation center.
The hospital had arranged for her to go to
(what I'm calling) The Good Rehab?,
but Bunny wanted another one that was much closer to Chez Boca.
As in walking distance of Chez Boca
(that is, if you ignore multiple fences along the way and the lack of a cross walk across a six lanes of traffic on a major road).
So that's where she was transported to.
But upon entering that place,
it was clear it was a mistake.
What happened next is a blur of the next 72 hours:
- The smell! It wasn't nauseating or unbearable,
but ? unfamiliar and thus disturbing.
It purmeated the place.
You could not get away from it.
- The initial room that Bunny was assigned lacked a bed.
Fortunately (I guess) there was another room nearby where she was reassigned.
- Speaking of rooms,
while sizable, all it contained was a wall-mounted TV,
a wall-mounted clock,
a wall-mounted light fixture,
the said bed
(which wasn't much bigger than the gurney Bunny arrived on),
a bed-side stand,
and a chair.
That's it.
No other decorations other than the faded pastel paint on the walls.
The closet was more of a built-in cabinet with a piece of plywood for a door,
sans latch.
- The bathroom in Bunny's room
(which I didn't even realize existed until late Sunday which says something about the place)
was a bathroom in a technical sense?it had a toilet and a sink with a soap and paper towel dispensers on other side.
No tub nor shower unit.
And the sink had standing water in it.
- The window shade was broken.
It could neither move up nor down.
It was stuck where it was.
- The food at the rehab center was,
to put it bluntly,
the ?grocery store you hate to shop at branded TV dinner? quality.
Technically edible,
but far from palatable
(on the other hand,
the food at the hospital was quite good).
- The rehab center was severely understaffed.
And they routinely failed to listen to Bunny
(?Don't move my arms! I can't be rolled on my side!?).
- It took over a day for the rehab center to get Bunny's pain medications.
I had failed to pick up her prescription before her pharmacy closed on Saturday.
- The two times Bunny let me go home to get some sleep
(since I felt really guilty about leaving her there alone)
I got a call only a few hours later to come back and help her as she felt she was being ignored.
- I purchased a cheap air matress and pump in order to get some sleep.
Sleeping on the chair was not comfortable,
and the rehab facility had nothing to offer,
citing fire codes
(and I really didn't want to leave her there alone for any length of time).
- I overheard two RNs talking about the horrible working conditions there.
One was worried about losing her license.
- Our only two options for leaving were bleak: 1) we could leave immediately ?against medical advice? but were were responsible for our own transportation,
or 2) wait until Monday to initiate a transfer as it couldn't be done over the weekend.
We opted to wait until Monday.
- The transfer request was made on Monday;
it didn't happen until Tuesday afternoon.
- A third RN,
just prior to Bunny being transferred,
wished us well as the place we were going.
She worked there,
and felt this place was better.
About that last bit with the RN: on the day we arrived,
I did visit The Good Rehab? to see what it would take to get transferred there.
Not only was it cleaner,
brighter, better smelling, and spacious,
but within ten minutes of arriving,
I was being given a tour from the concierge (they have a concierge!).
It was definitely clear that we should have come here first.
But alas,
mistakes on our part were made.
Anyway,
since Tuesday:
- I followed the transport van to The Good Rehab?.
The pulled up to the entrance.
By the time I parked and entered the new rehab center,
Bunny was already in her room,
in bed,
and being looked over by a few nurses.
- The RN helped me fill out the paper work,
and gave me the week's menu so Bunny and I could work out what she wanted to eat,
with options like chicken fettuccine alfredo or crab cakes.
- The food is incredible here!
It's much better than the hospital
(and that was good).
A few times Bunny has asked for seconds,
and gotten seconds.
- There was a dietician that came around to talk about the menu with
Bunny.
- The room is sizable,
and while she's sharing a room,
it's ?tastefully bland?
(like the hospital room was?that was a very nice room too).
And the bathroom is a full bathroom with a bathtub,
and a sink that doesn't have standing water.
- The door to the bathroom is insane!
It looks like a normal door with a door handle and it latches close,
but you can push it open from either side!
Or pull it open from either side.
- It's well staffed,
and they do respond with ten to fifteen minutes,
depending upon how busy they are.
They are also friendly
(but to be fair,
they were also friendly at the other rehab center,
even as they were understaffed).
- There's a grand piano in the main hall.
The other night there was a woman playing classical music on it.
- I don't feel bad at all about leaving her here overnight.
It's a real nice place.
And for some amusement,
this rolled into the room the other day:
Overall,
Bunny is doing quite well at The Good Rehab?.
It's clear she's making progress as she doesn't scream as much when physical therapy comes by to visit.
From what we've been hearing,
it'll be a few more weeks before she can return home.
But in the mean time,
she's in good hands.
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Her time at the hospital is nigh
The good news?Bunny will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow.
The neutral news?she's going to a rehabilitation center near to Chez Boca.
The bad?it was a rough day with the physical therapist.
Oh was it a rough day.
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A hospital concert
I think I found the reason why the hospital parking garage was full.
I arrive to the lobby to the sound of bag pipes.
Down the hall was a Scottish pipe band making the rounds of the hospital.
Had I known there would be a concert ongoing,
I might have tried to come earlier for a better parking spot.
I'm also surprised I didn't hear them in the parking garage.
In other news,
Bunny is doing well.
It still hurts when she moves,
but other than that,
not much else to report,
other than the doctors expect it to take six to eight weeks for her to fully heal her broken shoulders.
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The one day I park on the top level of a parking garage
I arrive at the hospital parking garage.
For the past few days I've been able to park on the second,
maybe third level of the garage.
But today is different.
As I'm driving, there are no open parking spots that aren't reserved for doctors or handicapped people.
I drive through the second level,
the third level,
I'm beginning to get worried as I drive through the fourth level,
and by the time I hit the fifth and final level,
I'm afraid I'm going to have to drive backwards down the parking garage as I don't think there's enough space for a three point turn.
Maybe a thousand point turn,
but at that point, it might be easier to drive backwards.
But there,
at the very top,
was the final parking spot of the garage,
still empty.
Sigh.
Now the parking garage is attached to the hospital.
There's a stairwell with some elevators leading down to the lobby of the hospital.
Of course,
these elevators are for the garage?there's a separate set of elevators in the lobby for the rooms of the hospitals,
so each day,
I take the garage elevator down,
head to the front desk to check in,
then head to the guest elevators to the rooms,
which are next to the garage elevators.
When leaving,
it's just heading down to the first floor,
walk some two dozen feet to the garage elevators,
and head back up.
I say this,
because at no time when parking do you leave an unroofed area,
except when you park on the fifth level of the garage!
When I was left this evening,
I get to the fifth level of the parking garage,
open the door to enter the parking garage proper,
and find myself looking into a solid wall of rain.
And of course, my car is at the far end of the level.
Sigh.
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Notes on an overheard conversation without context because I think it's funnier that way
?There was something supernatural about it.?
?That reminds me of ? oh ? XXXX ? I blanking on his last name. He channeled an elf.?
?Oh! You mean XXXXXXXXXXXX.?
?Yes! XXXXXXXXXXXX!?
?He thought he was an elf??
?No, he channeled an elf.?
?What??
?Channeled. You know those New Age woo woo people who think they're communicating with alients from Atlantis??
?Oh, yeah.?
?And he channeled other entities besides elves.?
?Um ? how did you guys know him??
?It was high school. A different time back then.?
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![[A picture of a telepresence robot] "It's no FX-7 but then again, Bunny isn't in a bacta tank"](/2026/06/06/robot.jpg "\"It's no FX-7 but then again, Bunny isn't in a bacta tank\"")
